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CHAPTER 23

Since the Amish, were applying much pressure to the local legal system at this time, we had to expect the unexpected. We didn't trust the local legal system in St. Lawrence County, or the Amish. The Amish had made many phone calls to St. Lawrence County Sheriffs' Department stating that I was a bad individual and that was the reason they hadn't helped the Miller children. One Amish man who called went as far as stating that he thought I was a fugitive from the state of Texas and a trained killer.

On September 12th, I talked to Ervin. I tried to focus on my work. The Miller children from New York called my 800 number and talked to our daughters for a while. Little Stephen spoke too, but he wasn't used to the telephone, and it was very hard for him to understand. I understand that the Miller family might not be the ideal family, and that some of the children appear more nervous than others. Two of them have already been sent to the mental hospital, and unfortunately, I expect more to go as time goes along.

On September 13th and 14th, I stayed focused on trucking. On the 15th and the 16th I made a couple of phone calls to check up on the Miller children. Later I learned that on the 16th that Jonas Miller, who is my niece Anna's husband and the Bishop's son, threatened to commit suicide because of all the trouble.

Jonas's wife, Anna, is a sister to the ten remaining Miller children, and has done nothing to help her brothers and sisters. In fact, when Michelle Miller asked her sister for help Anna refused. It was a completely different story when Anna was still at home, she could never talk fast enough about the abuse she suffered. But Anna was now married to the Bishop's son, and now had a child of her own.
Things changed.

How do I know that Jonas Miller made the phone call? In the Amish settlement in Wayne County, Ohio, the higher classed Amish have phone shacks on their farms near the road. Anyone in the neighborhood is welcome to use the phone, and you must write down your name and the phone number you called. When the bill arrived, you'd have to pay for whatever calls you made. Jonas's name was registered on the book, the time, the date and place, and Jonas was on the side of the parents. The phone call went to the Miller children's neighbor Jack Wayner.

On the September 17, Catherine, age six, had an accident in school. This was also the day Michelle went to Ogdensburg Hepburn Hospital to get an MRI done. Her appointment was for 12:00 noon. While she was in the emergency room, her little sister Catherine arrived in the emergency room also, driven there by Sherly Younger. While in school, Catherine some how or another got hit in the head with a baseball bat by one of Joe Miller's daughters. Catherine had a big bruise on her forehead.

I wasn't home and the Miller children tried desperately to call me. Our two daughters were at home, and had the Miller children thought about it they could have left a pay phone number at the hospital and I could have called them back. After our daughters received the first phone call I was paged, and I called home and they gave me the message. I learned later on that evening that Catherine was released from the emergency room and appeared to be okay. Of coarse, Michelle also was done with her MRI test. What an exciting day.

On September 18th, someone mysteriously showed up at Jack Wayner’s house while the Miller children were there washing off their buggy. They had taken the buggy down there because Jack and Donna had water under pressure, which would make cleaning the buggy easier. This was before lunchtime. Jack tried to act stupid in front of the Miller children when the stranger showed up, but Jack never questioned the guy, whose name was Jim Brady.

Jim asked, "May I use your phone?"

"Yes," Jack replied. Jim stayed on the phone for quite a while. When Jim got off the phone he told the Miller children, "I just got off the phone with Jerry Wayner, and he said it was okay for me to do a story on you kids."

Paul replied, "We are under orders not to talk to anybody."

Jim said, "Yes, I know, but this won't be published before the case is over with, and Jerry Wayner Okayed it." The Miller children thought that since Jerry Wayner was the arresting officer, if he said it was okay, then it must be.

Jim Brady said, "It would be better if no one told Ed Hyde about this."

"How come your car isn't marked?" Paul asked. "What is the name of the paper you're writing for?"

"My car is unmarked, because I have expensive equipment in there, and I'm a free lancer. I write for a couple different newspapers," he said.

Joe Miller, who is on the school board with the Miller children's father, told Sherly Younger, a neighbor of the Miller family, that if the Amish lost this case that the American public hadn't seen anything yet that the Amish would do things they had never done before. Does that mean that they would intentionally set up the Miller children, so they'd lose? No one who had the children's best interest at heart would even dare to bring any kind of reporter in at that point.

Jim Brady put his camera equipment in back of the buggy after they finished washing it off, and took pictures all day long. He also intended to spend all day Friday with the children, which would have been the 19th, which would have been the day the children would have taken their baths.

They take a bath every other day now, instead of every six months like most of them did when their parents were home. Jim Brady wanted a picture of little Catherine and Malinda bathing themselves in the foot tub. When Ervin brought this to my attention at about 8:45 p.m., I went through the roof.

I said, "Ervin, your brothers and sisters are probably being set up by the Amish. If this picture is taken and makes it into the newspaper, there's no way in hell that Michelle will be able to get custody of the kids."

Ervin had talked with Jack that evening so I asked if I asked Ervin if Jack knew anything about it. But he said Jack acted ignorant about the whole situation, and said he didn't know what was going on. I called Mr. Hyde, who said, "Oh, no, we can't have this."

“I know. That's why I'm calling you. I need your help to stop this." While I was talking to Hyde on the phone, Ervin was trying to get a hold of Jack Wayner.
Jack's phone, which is equipped with caller I.D., just rang and rang. I expressed my deep concerns to Hyde, and he understood. He said, "I'll see what I can do to get it under control."

Less than 45 minutes after I hung up the phone, Mr. Hyde showed up at the Miller residence. The children said Hyde was actually shaking that is how serious this matter was if Social Services got a wind of it. Hyde told the Miller children he wasn't mad at them. From there he went down to Jack Wayner's. Hyde talked to the reporter for 45 minutes, and was still shaking. He told Jim Brady it would be best not to publish anything until it was over with. Jack told Jim Brady it would be best if he went home to Syracuse. However Jack Wayner had been prepared give the reporter free room and board for how ever long he was going to be up there to interview the children.

When Fran, Ervin, Michelle and I were interviewed at the New York State Police Headquarters in Ray Brook, N.Y. on the 22nd of July, Lt. Jim had told us that Jerry Wayner had close ties to the Amish community.

Thanks to Mr. Hyde, we were able to stop that on the evening of the 18th. At 11:00 p.m. I received a phone call from Mr. Hyde stating that the situation was under control. Hyde had told me earlier that he was going to be in Ohio taking more statements from Ervin, Peter, and James Miller. By the time this episode was all done with I had spent an hour and a half on the phone. Neither Jack nor Jerry Wayner was able to give a solid reason for their actions, but having a reporter taking pictures of Malinda and Catherine in the foot tub was done for only one reason: to destroy the children. Thank God we were able to put a stop to it before it happened.

On September 20th, Ed Hyde was at Ervin's house in Ohio. Ed ate dinner with Ervin and his family and his brothers Peter and James. He told them that he'd talked to Roy Vance, and that Vance had failed to look at this from a professional standpoint, didn't see the severity of the case. Back in 1992, Atlee Byler told me that if the Amish were ever to have any legal trouble, his good friend Roy Vance would see to it that it worked out in the Amish's favor, that the Amish wouldn't have anything to worry about. At that time Roy Vance was only an assistant District Attorney. It seems Atlee Byler knew what he was talking about.

Apparently, Roy Vance would rather protect his Amish friends than stand up for the innocent children. However Roy made a beautiful statement on WWTI TV Channel 50, but his actions spoke louder than his words.

I had a lengthy conversation on the phone with Ervin. Ervin said that Mr. Hyde wanted to know how our little circle of our communication worked. Ervin explained, "If any of my brothers or sisters from upstate New York have any problem during the day, they call me in the evening. If I think there could be a problem, I page Uncle David. When my Uncle calls me back, we look at it from all different angles. We come up with a decision after we've carefully evaluated the situation. Then I call my sister in New York and let her know of our decision."

Since Ervin has been excommunicated he has been playing a more important role in fighting for justice for his brothers and sisters. I used to personally talk to Michelle quit often, but this way it takes a lot of pressure off me, and gives me more time with my own family and employment. However, if Michelle needs me all she has to do is call home and let me know, or let Ervin know she needs to talk to me.

On the 22nd, the news media were having court hearings because they were desperately trying to bring the TV cameras in to televise live the proceedings concerning the Andy Miller case. It seems as if I may have kicked up enough dust that finally someone was starting to listen. If Andy and Emma Miller weren't Amish, I know that Roy Vance would prosecute them.

I doubted I'd be able to change the system enough so Amish children could get justice in the future, but I was beginning to believe the Miller children might get justice in family court. Ervin and I agreed that we might have been too hard on Ed Hyde in the past. Now, it's clear that he finally understands the severity of this case. I'm not asking much from Roy, all I am asking is that he prosecutes Andy and Emma Miller the same way he would someone wearing English clothes.

On September 21, I had a lengthy discussion with Michelle and Ervin. Ervin was the subject of a big article in the Watertown paper over the weekend, and channel 7 also flashed a piece of the Miller children across the TV screen. On September 22, we had a load of freight to take from Salt Lake City, UT. to Portland, Oregon. I checked in with Ervin to see if the court ruled that all court proceedings concerning the Andy Miller case could be televised. Ervin stated he tried to reach Mr. Hyde six times, and it was now 8:00 p.m., and Mr. Hyde still wasn't at home. So he didn't know.

I asked about his brothers and sisters in New York, and he told me there'd been no new developments. Ervin talked about his article in the paper and being on TV I thought he kind of liked that he was the only one who hadn't been told he couldn't talk to reporters and TV cameras. I don't care for the television news media, or even newspaper reporters, but they'd definitely helped in this case.

On September 23, Michelle got her test results back. The bone specialist said that he didn't find anything wrong, but someone else from the hospital said he wanted to do more tests, because there was an unexplainable black dot in the x-rays, which could be the cause of the pain. Ervin and I had a lengthy phone conversation, and Ed said the Judge had 13 pages of violations that he found on Andy and Emma Miller incidents of extreme corporal punishment. I understand it was also mental cruelty when they put James in the water cistern at the age of 4, and the severe beatings James, Peter and Michelle have received.

On September 24, we were already aware that the Judge had found Andy and Emma Miller guilty before the trial date. On August 27, both parties agreed to use the prior transcripts so none of the children would have to testify again: an outstanding move on Ed Hyde's part. I realized that the case probably wouldn't go the way I thought it should. I also knew there were no winners in this case. I was going up against my own sister, to fight for her children's rights to justice. Still, I don't hate Emma, no matter if I think she's guilty of murder or how severe the child abuse has been. Instead, I find myself truly feeling sorry for her, wondering how this could have happened to the lovely girl I knew as a child. I continued to wish Emma would just go and ask for help.

She was offered free counseling by the courts, but she and Andy only showed up once, and failed to get anywhere with the counseling. To this day, it appears that Social Services were working for the parents and not for the children.
Some believe that Andy and Emma are being punished, both mentally and financially, but that's not true. After their arrest and removal from the residence, they stayed with the Amish with the Bishop's son Elmer Miller in Heuvelton, N.Y., . Then they were transferred to a women's abuse shelter just outside of Canton, N.Y. and stayed there for about 30 days. From there they went to a motel. St. Lawrence County and the State of New York picked up the expenses, so the taxpayers paid for it.

In the June court hearing when the Amish learned that they weren't going to be able to force the legal system to let Andy and Emma come back in their own residence, they were disappointed. They protested in the courtroom until about 7:30 p.m. that day, until finally Andy and Emma's attorneys put them in the women's abuse shelter just outside of Canton, N.Y. free of charge.

Bishop Jacob Miller and his preachers thought Andy and Emma should be able to go home, saying the Amish were too poor to give them a home. That has always been the Amish way: to cry poverty. They would like everyone to believe that they are just poor innocent farmers. This defense has always worked for them in the past, but the truth is, they are neither poor nor innocent.

Most of the Amish farmers have their farms paid for, and money on the side. The reason that the Amish couldn't give Andy and Emma a home was because they were all afraid for their lives. They worry that if they gave Andy and Emma a home and I was to find out that I might seek revenge. They used me to get what they wanted, and the local system gave in, by sending them to the shelter.
Andy decided to push things a little further. While still with his attorney, who was giving Andy a ride to the abuse shelter, he went "hysterical," saying that he knew I would kill him. Andy went on and on about how bad I was, so he and his attorney called St. Lawrence Sheriffs Department and made a report.

Bishop Jacob Miller testified earlier that day, in court, that the only reason they hadn't helped the children was because of me. He said they were afraid of me and that's why they hadn't done anything for the children. It hurts me to think someone could even think that about me, but it does prove that the Amish like the rest of us, are human. They'd do whatever it took to try and get the case back in the hands of the Amish. Andy and Emma's attorneys were arguing that they didn't want the children to move to Ohio because of their Uncle David.

Mr. Hyde wanted to know how far I lived from Ervin's house and what I did for a living. Ervin told him that I was a cross-country trucker. Mr. Hyde at that time made a joke about it, saying, "I bet your Uncle David hauls nuclear missiles for a living, too."

My nephew Ervin explained how my wife and I pulled doubles across the country for different companies. He told Mr. Hyde that we live about 60 miles from his home in a little town called Cambridge, Ohio. Ervin then offered to take Mr. Hyde down and show him where I live. Ervin knew Fran and I wouldn't be home, but my daughters would be.

Ervin said, "You'll see for yourself, Mr. Hyde. You'll get to meet his daughters and see his home. You'll see that my Uncle David has never been a threat to anybody, he's just trying to help."

"No," Mr. Hyde replied, "that won't be necessary. The other side is just making a big issue out of your Uncle. I was just curious. I needed to know those things from an attorney's standpoint so I know what I'm talking about, because all this will be a big issue in the future if I try to bring your brothers and sisters from New York to your place. In fact," Mr. Hyde added, "the Amish have already made a big issue out of your Uncle David." There seems to be no limit to the level of deception that the Amish will stoop to.

Mr. Hyde has spoken to a lot of different Amish from upstate New York concerning this case, and there are some who realize that things have gotten out of control, and want the local system to handle it. So, like non-Amish, there are good Amish who do not believe in these types of beatings. Some of these Amish have even tried to stand up for these Miller children, but were quickly put back in their place. Bishop Jacob made them aware that he was the chosen one, and they were only the followers. I believe Bishop Jacob is terrified of the outcome of this case. He's afraid this will open the door for the public to come in and perhaps investigate more of his members. Bishop Jacob has ordered all his members to support the Miller parents rather than the children. The Bishop and Preachers were well aware that they needed to win the court hearing, scheduled for the week of Sept. 25,1997, in order to protect their Culture.